Reviewer:

There were several things that appealed to me about this cake, not the least of which was that it called for 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa which told me this would be good and chocolaty. I also liked the butter and shortening combo, knowing I’d get the best of both - the incomparable flavor of the butter and the added moistness from the shortening. I did notice there was no salt in the recipe, so I added half a teaspoon, but it was not enough to help the surprising lack of flavor I found with this cake, in spite of the generous amount of cocoa. The bottom line is that this was a mildly chocolate cake, rather light in color, and not nearly as moist as I would have liked. It’s an ok cake but not something I’d consider making again. Perhaps it’s buttermilk, oil and/or coffee that are the deciding factors that make a chocolate cake moist and boldly chocolate. I did not use the frozen whipped topping or the bananas, choosing instead to use my own chocolate buttercream frosting.